Don't want a large compost pile? Try creating a worm bin for vermicomposting.
While many home gardeners compost traditionally with an outdoor pile or bin, vermicomposting can be a more compact way to recycle kitchen scraps utilizing the power of worms.
Vermicomposting is a form of composting that uses worms, rather than soil microorganisms, to break down kitchen scraps. Like composting, vermicomposting results in a nutrient rich soil additive. Unlike composting, this process often occurs indoors and can be a wonderful alternative for those without the outdoor space that traditional composting requires.
To start your vermicomposting, or “worm bin” as it’s more casually referred to, you’ll first need to select an appropriate container. Containers should be shallow, between 8 and 12 inches deep, to allows worms to feed primarily in the first few inches. Deeper containers can pose an odor problem. Containers can be purchased but are also easily made from plastic totes.
If you have limited space, you may choose to have several small containers around your home rather than one large container.
To make the worm bin, drill 8 to 12 quarter-inch holes in the bottom of the container for drainage and ventilation. If you notice the contents are too soggy, more holes should be added. The bin should then be placed up on bricks or wooden blocks with a tray below to catch the excess moisture.
Ventilation is crucial to worm survival, so make sure to space out your holes around the container and never close the lid completely.
Worm bedding is an excellent opportunity to use materials you may otherwise throw away. Shredded cardboard, shredded paper (newspaper or printer paper — with ink is OK), peat moss or commercial worm bedding are all good options for the primary element of your bin. Paper can dry out quickly, peat moss can change the pH to an undesirable level, and of course, commercial mixes cost money.
Some combination of these materials is most likely to please your worms.
The size of your box will determine the amount of bedding you need to add. A 2-foot by 2-foot box should have 4-6 pounds of dry bedding while a 2-foot by 3-foot box needs 9-14 pounds. Before putting your bedding in the box, put it all in another container (without holes) and allow it soak in water for 24 hours. Drain the water and squeeze out the excess from your bedding materials.
For the duration of the time your bedding is with your worms it should remain as damp as a wet sponge. Too much water can drown worms, but dry bedding is just as detrimental. A spray bottle is helpful in achieving the desired moisture after the worms are added.
The worms most often used for vermicomposting are red wigglers (Eisenia foetida). These worms can be found in catalogs, online and at bait shops. Adopt a worm and save it from a fisherman’s hook. You may also be surprised who you know that has worms and would be willing to give you a few to start your bin.
Part of the reason red wigglers are so successful in worm bins is their temperature preferences. They prefer temperatures between 55-77 degrees. Your worm bin should never be allowed to freeze, nor should it be exposed to temperatures above 84 degrees. When adding worms to the bin, simply scatter them on top, as they will burrow down on their own.
You might be surprised by the types of kitchen waste your worms can consume. Fruit and vegetable scraps, pasta, coffee grounds and filters as well as tea bags all make excellent worm food. Some worms may shy away from onion or garlic peels as well as citrus rinds.
Like chickens, worms need grit to help with digestion. Coffee grounds, egg shells (dried then crushed) and corn meal all add a nice amount of grit to their diet. Some meat and eggs can be added, but not in large quantities. These additives may also attract rodents.
As you add food to your bin, go slowly. Adding more than the worms can eat can cause food to mold and smell in your bin. Vegetable scraps and grit should be added first and in small amounts to start with. Your worms will also eat their bedding.
Scraps should be placed on one end of the bin, slowly adding more and moving across the bin. As you move the scraps, the worms will move in that direction. When you reach the far side of your bin, materials from the beginning will be fully consumed and converted to usable vermicompost. This process may take up to three to four months.
Leafy vegetables are a worm favorite and a great place to start when establishing a bin. Make sure to also add more wet bedding as your worms move back and forth through the bin.
The byproduct from your worms, vermicompost, will be a nutrient-packed soil amendment. According to the University of Nebraska, vermicompost contains five times more nitrogen, seven times more phosphorus and 11 times more potassium than garden soil.
As with traditional compost, vermicompost also improves soil structure. To remove the vermicompost, add fresh bedding and scraps to one side of bin. Wait two to three days and remove the older material, carefully checking for worms and their small cocoons as you go.
Ariel Whitely-Noll is the horticulture agent for Shawnee County Research and Extension. She can be reached at arielw@ksu.edu.
This article originally appeared on Topeka Capital-Journal: A worm bin will produce a nutrient-packed soil amendment. Here's how.
